The dangers of living in Chiang Mai

Sometimes you read a story which reminds you that Chiang Mai, or the Rose of the North is not quite the Paradise you believed it was. In this case villans and bad luck seem to have struck for our friends at Thai Eyes. Apparently their house was attacked in the early morning hours, they were drugged and cameras and computer gear stolen. The story follows an all to familiar pattern when it transpires the culprits were high on Yaa Baa, or crazy medicine as Methamphetamine is known known in Thailand.

We know many older Farangs who live alone in Chiang Mai and sometimes this type of incident is a wake up call for your security. Our best advice is if you value it, put it in the safe, though that didn’t seem to work for Thai Eyes, from the photos’ it looks like the safe is undamaged which points to someone knowing where to find the keys or the combination! This brings us to the second point: be very careful who you bring home with you, especially if you suspect they maybe engage in substance abuse.

This episode reminds us of the very sad demise of our friend David Crisp, who was murdered just over two years ago by three guys he brought to his home, apparently he met them from one of the bars in Chiang Mai night bazaar’s notorious Sleaze Alley. What may have seemed cute and friendly young men, who he thought he knew, appear to have changed into versions of the devil incarnate after excessive YaaBaa consumption.

The late David Crisp

After beating him over the head then slashing his throat following an apparent, discussion over domestic issues, the three guys stole his safe, other valuables and a car before going drinking in local bars.

Earlier this month a Thai court sentenced one of the perpetrators, from the Akha hill tribes, to life imprisonment. It seems his early guilty plea spared him a death sentence, whilst another of his alleged co-conspirators, also Akha, was not charged in connection with the murder and we understand has since been released from custody after a short sentence for other offences. The third alleged perpetrator, believed to be of Tai Yai origin, has never been apprehended.

The intention of this article was not to put people off visiting Chaing Mai, but to remind you not to leave common sense at home. Compared with many other cities in the world Chiang Mai is a very safe place to live and visit. However, it is close to the border with Burma, where the Wa armies are one of the world’s biggest producers of YaaBaa. Hence the unsurprising fact that the streets of Chiang Mai are awash with both the drug and the criminal activities of suppliers and users alike.

One of the first uses of methamphetamines was in the second world war, when the German army gave it to troops before battle. Hitler is also believed to have been an addict, enough proof of its psychotic effects?

Updated February 2020

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